Tip your contractor?

Yes. Contractors typically get a 50% tip.

Or simply double the tip you gave to your real estate agent at closing.

no

He'll tip himself - with the change orders you'll have to pay for.

Change orders? Can you elaborate? I have a great general contractor and want to give a tip as well. I have no experience in this and would appreciate a serious response.

No. You don't tip a GC. You can tip a job foreman if s/he is deserving or anyone else that makes you smile with their work.

Are people going insane? Is this a joke?
Are you going to tip the architect, your kid´s teachers, your doctor, your lawyer, your dentist, because you are happy with the service they give u?

CB123 - you just realized that you forgot to put a light switch in the place you want - CACHING - change order, added cost $. Closet should be 4" deeper - change order. Don't like the doors you originally specified - change order.

And that's leaving out the unexpected discoveries behind gutted walls.

Change orders occur whenever you deviate (and by that I mean even the slightest) from the construction documents on which the contractor gave you the bid. The contractor then submits the "proposal" for the cost associated with the change.

That's one of the reasons why most people (other than Kylewest, who seems to have had unbelievably precise construction documents) build in a 10-20% cost overrun factor when planning renovations.

We never tipped the contractor but we did regularly show up on a Friday and buy lunch for the guys doing the actual work. Ditto, we gave the guys a few bottles of vodka - but ONLY when they were leaving on Friday afternoons (they were Russian).

"Are you going to tip the architect, your kid´s teachers, your doctor, your lawyer, your dentist, because you are happy with the service they give u?"

Hell YES!

It's the CUSTOM here in New York! Get with the program!

early start on new years?

matt, nasty. please.

Certainly everyone enjoys a sincere thank you for a job well done. I'd wait until the job was completely finished & if you then still love your GC, some gift would be nice, but must it be cash? I personally like flowers or a plant or maybe by then you know that they like wine or scotch. You can also offer a reference or offer to show the work to potential future clients. Another idea I like is to have an open house & invite all of the crew to see & enjoy their hard work.

Yeah. I forgot. I bought the crew lunch gift cards every other week during the job.

And while my job came in just over budget, I did built a potential 10-20% cost overrun into the budget. Just glad it didn't come to be. But things like added costs for adding 4" to a closet would have driven me nuts. No reason one can't know what dimentions the closet should be before the contract is signed with the GC. Same with doors. Just check them out before the contract is signed so you don't getadded costs later. The more prep you do, the closer you come in to the budget. The more you figure out as you go, the more you surely realize your costs will be going up.

And for the tip we gave the foreman, it paid in spades almost immediately. An Easter emergency visit when a faucet jammed, a bum light fixture I was responsible for failed and needed replacing...etc. He came back with a smile and we really appreciated him and his work. We spent A LOT to renovate. $200 at the end to the foreman was a drop in the bucket at that point. But it meant the world to him. I'm glad I can afford to tip and that I'm not the kind of person who somehow becomes enraged over it. All the money I spend on tips during me life, if added up, will not have made any difference to the life I live by the time I die. So why not be generous?

Absolutely, Kyle.

I hope you keep that in mind the next time you're NOT mugged.

NYCMatt believe it or not tipping acutally feels good. As someone who relied on tips as a young person I know how happy it makes the people who receive it. And it really will not break anyone's wallet to bring breakfast to the crew. Kylewest we also tipped the foreman and felt right about it. We even gave him a nice baby present when he had twins.

"All the money I spend on tips during me life, if added up, will not have made any difference to the life I live by the time I die. So why not be generous?"

Kyle, if you want to be generous but actually make a difference then contribute to http://www.operationsmile.org/

tipping a contractor?! this makes absolutely no sense

Thank you for the wonderful suggestion projects_suck, but you actually know essentially nothing about me and if you did, that would likely inform what suggestions you offer me. Far from being some kind of robber baron, I am deeply involved in international and domestic work to better the lives of children and actually devote a very significant portion of my time and energies to children's causes. I make a reasonable but not especially noteworthy living which I'd actually call somewhat modest in terms of what it costs to live in NYC. I give not because I'm rolling in money that comes to me through selfish egotistical pursuits.

I give of my time and tip with my money because it is the life I choose to live as opposed to some on here who seem to feel the need to stake out rather acerbic positions from some mindset that they are under attack and greedy people are trying to pry money from them. Reading some posters on this thread, I feel grateful that I don't live with the kind of rancor in my thoughts that comes across as so angry, vitriolic and evincing such indifferent to others.

But thanks again for the suggestion. Perhaps others will see it and decide to get involved. NYCMatt?...

"tipping a contractor?! this makes absolutely no sense"

Makes as much sense as tipping salaried union personnel with full health and pension benefits.

I tipped them as just a gesture of good will.

I just finished my renovations and yes, I did tip. I was careful to give the individual workers the money myself and not their supervisors as I wasn't sure if he would disburse it. These workers make very little and work very hard. What is the big deal in tipping them for a job well done? The appreciative and surprised looks on their faces said it all. It was well worth it. If you can afford to buy a NYC apt and have it renovated, I think sparing a few hundred dollars for each worker is not that big of a deal.

We are very lucky, why not share a little?

I am tired of tipping... I'll tip union guys with a crap salary, but I am not tipping anyone else, ever - again.

Tipping a contractor... Let's see, he gave you an estimate (probably inflated) and provided the service. This is not a tipping situation. "Tip" him by giving him referrals if you liked his work. Good God.

I failed to include the people who deliver my goods... I love them and I tip them :D

and of course the taxi drivers... can't not tip them, right?

taxi, delivery, doormen and building union staff (though I often wonder what this extortion is all about)..

In my building the managing agent staff have the audacity to include their names on the holiday card...

I think I am ready to exit.

I have just gone to contract on my just completed renovated apt. It is going to give me absolute pleasure to tip my GC and the individual trades because they did an outstanding job and at the same time made my renovating life so much easier and enjoyable experience thru the 7 month process.
I believe in fairness and yes I think I am good to work for, I had created a 27 page document that outlined all the details plus numerous drawings so they new exactly what I wanted. I cooked or had catered in a healthy lunch for them everyday (as we are in an expensive part of town and they were mainly eating rubbish). Encouraged english classes at lunch time so with the additional skill they could earn more income in the future. Took them to fix medical problems etc.....
However what I got in return was much more it was an absolute willingness to do what ever I wanted, it was the amazing attention to detail, you could tell they were giving there best, nothing was to much to ask for there was no..".oh that will take longer,.... more difficult...., can't do it..".it made the job site a joy to be around and the renovation was exactly how I wanted it, there was no compromises because it would involve more time or labour...not a single "change order" even thou I must admit there were not many, there are still some things that are hard to for see...yet they gladly did them. (I can't believe someone would charge for that 4In change in a closet).
Bottom line to come in on budget, on time and without stress ( actually enjoyable) and above the standard I imagined- the 10% of the budget I had earmarked for over budget - delighted to give as a thank you rather than the experience of being, stressed, undersatisfied and gauged of my 10% thru change orders and delays.

gabrielle, you're my kind of person. Enjoy your wonderful new home. Not just because you got what you wanted, but also because you will always feel so good about how you got there--being good and decent to people.

Also, you have said what I've gone on and on about for 2 years on streeteasy: if you are doing a renovation, invest in a proper set of minutely detailed construction drawings. It makes you, the GC and workers happier in the end.

Kylewest thank you, it felt good to read your response.

For anyone starting a renovation I 100% agree about the irreplaceable value of "minutely detailed construction drawings"......perhaps we should do a separate thread on it ?

Kyle - think you misunderstood one part of Gabrielle 904's post - she just went into contract to SELL the apartment (which, as she'd posted somewhere else some time back, she tried to sell right after the renovation was completed). It's good to know that the prospective purchaser appreciates the renovation.

ph41: I got it now. Read too quick. I couldn't imagine going thru that to sell. But then again, selling in 2007 was a very different experience than today's market.